1.
Satavahana dynasty
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The Satavahanas were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. The Satavahana kingdom mainly comprised the present-day Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, at different times, their rule extended to parts of modern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. The dynasty had different capital cities at different times, including Pratishthana, the origin of the dynasty is uncertain, but according to the Puranas, their first king overthrew the Kanva dynasty. In the post-Maurya era, the Satavahanas established peace in the Deccan region, in particular their struggles with the Saka Western Satraps went on for a long time. The dynasty reached its zenith under the rule of Gautamiputra Satakarni, the kingdom fragmented into smaller states by the early 3rd century CE. The Satavahanas were early issuers of Indian state coinage struck with images of their rulers and they formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade and the transfer of ideas and culture to and from the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the southern tip of India. They supported Brahmanism as well as Buddhism, and patronised Prakrit language instead of Sanskrit, the date and place of origin of the Satavahanas, as well as the meaning of the dynastys name, are a matter of debate among the historians. According to one theory, the word Satavahana is a Prakrit form of the Sanskrit Sapta-Vahana and this would indicate that the Satavahanas originally claimed association with the legendary solar dynasty, as was common in ancient India. According to Inguva Kartikeya Sarma, the name is derived from the words sata and vahana. Another theory connects their name to the earlier Satiyaputa dynasty, yet another theory derives their name from the Munda words Sadam and Harpan, implying son of the performer of a horse sacrifice. Several rulers of the dynasty bear the name or title Satakarni, Satavahana, Satakarni, Satakani and Shalivahana appear to be variations of the same word. Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi theorized that the word Satakarni is derived from the Munda words sada, the Puranas use the name Andhra or Andhra-Bhritya for the Satavahanas. The term Andhra may refer to ethnicity or territory of the dynasty and it does not appear in the dynastys own records. The use of the name Andhra in the Puranas has led scholars to believe that the dynasty originated in the eastern Deccan region. At Kotilingala in Telangana, coins bearing the legend Rano Siri Chimuka Satavahanasa were found, coins attributed to Simukas successors Kanha and Satakarni I were also discovered at Kotilingla. Based on these discoveries, historians such as D. R. Reddy, S. Reddy, however, the coin samples from Kotlingala are small, and it is not certain if these coins were minted there or reached there from somewhere else. Sastry also later changed his view, and stated that the two kings were different, as for the Puranas, these texts were compiled much later, during the Gupta period, and it is not certain if the Satavahanas were referred to as Andhras during their time. Another section of scholars believe that the Satavahanas originated in western Deccan, all of the four extant inscriptions from the early Satavahana period have been found in and around this region

2.
Gautamiputra Satakarni
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Gautamiputra Satakarni, also known as Gotmiputa Siri Satakani was a ruler of the Satavahana Empire in present-day Deccan region of India. He ruled in the 2nd century CE, although his exact period uncertain and his reign is dated variously, 86-110 CE, c. The information available about Gautamiputra Satakarni comes from his coins, the Satavahana inscriptions, the best known of these is the Nashik prashasti inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri, which credits him with extensive military conquests. Historical evidence suggests that Gautamiputra revived the Satavahana power after a decline caused by Shaka invasions, except the Brahmanda Purana, all the Puranas that contain the genealogy of Satavahana kings mention Gautamiputra. According to Bhagavata, Matsya and Vishnu Puranas, his predecessor was Shivasvati, however, Shivasvati remains historically unattested, no coins or inscriptions issued by him have been discovered. The Vayu Purana names the predecessor of Gautamiputra as Shivasvami, the Brahmanada Purana does not mention the name Gautamiputra at all, instead it names a king called Yantramati, who ruled for 34 years, and was preceded by Svātisena. The mother of Gautamiputra Satakarni was Gautami Balashri, as attested by Nasik prashasti, the inscription is dated to the 19th regnal year of his son Vasishthiputra Pulumavi. It records the grant of a village to the Buddhist monks of the Bhadrayaniya sect, Gautamiputra literally means son of Gautami, while Satakarni is a title common to several Satavahana kings. Such matronymics also appear in the names of other Satavahana kings and these do not indicate a matriarchy or a matrilineal descent system. The real explanation for matronymics seems to be that since the rulers married a number of wives from different royal families, historical evidence suggests that the Western Kshatrapas expanded their empire at the expense of Satavahanas in the years preceding the reign of Gautamiputra Satakarni. Based on the Nashik inscription of his mother, it appears that Gautamiputra revived the Satavahana power, the inscription states that he defeated the Shakas, the Pahlavas, and the Yavanas. It also states that he emerged victorious in several fights against a confederacy of enemies, the Nashik prashasti inscription of Gautamiputras mother calls him the king of kings, and states that his orders were obeyed by the circle of all kings. It indicates that his rule extended from Malwa and Saurashtra in the north to Krishna river in the south and it states that he ruled the following regions, Asika Aśmaka Muḍhaka or Mulaka Surāśtra Kukura Aparanta Anupa Vidarbha Akara-Avanti The identity of Kukura is uncertain. R G Bhandarkar identified it with a part of Rajputana, while Alexander Cunningham identified it with Gurjara, sudhakar Chattopadhyaya identified it with an area in Madhya Pradesh, possibly near the western part of the Vindhyas. He, therefore, believes that Gautamiputras empire included the Telangana, M. Rama Rao also supports this theory on the basis of coins discovered in the eastern Deccan region. Although coins can travel via trade, Chattopadhyaya believes that the Nashik inscription corroborates this theory, however, there are no other records of Satavahana presence in the eastern Deccan region before the period of his son Vashishtiputra Pulumavi. An inscription at Karle records the grant of Karajika village by Gautamiputra, the Nashik prashasti inscription further states that the horses of Gautamiputra drank waters of the three oceans. This implies that Gautamiputra subdued the Cholas and the Pandyas in southern India, however, there is no historical evidence of this

3.
Amaravathi (village), Guntur district
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Amaravathi is a famous Buddhist site and village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Amaravati mandal of Guntur revenue division, on the banks of Krishna river. Although now it is designated as a village administered by a gram panchayat, it is an important historic town. Sri Amaralingeswara Swamy temple is located at the Amararama Pancharama Kshetra site in this village and it is also a historic Buddhist site, and the Amaravati Mahachaitya stupa was built here between the 2nd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. Designated as a site by the Government of India, Amaravati has been chosen as one of the sites for Heritage City Development. Amaravathi translates to The town which lives on forever in the Telugu language and it is located on the banks of river krishna. It is also referred as Amareswaram, for its famous Amareswara temple dedicated to Lord Siva, one of the famous Pancharamas. The recorded history of Amaravati and nearby Dharanikota dates to 5th century BCE and it was the capital of Satavahanas who ruled from 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE. After the decline of Satavahanas, Andhra Ikshvakus and later Pallava kings ruled Krishna river valley, subsequently, Eastern Chalukyas and Telugu Cholas held sway over the region. Kota Kings were in control of Amaravati during the medieval times, kota kings were subdued by Kakatiyas in 11th century CE and Amaravati became part of the unified Telugu empire. The Skanda Purana gives a picture of the place and the Siva temple located here and it was ceded to France in 1750 but was captured by England in 1759. Guntur returned to the Nizamate in 1768 but was ceded to England again in 1788 and it was briefly occupied by Hyder Ali. It was part of Madras Presidency during the British colonial period, the most important historic monument in Amaravathi village is the Mahachaitya. It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India which maintains a museum beside the ruins. The city is located at 16°34′N 80°22′E on the bank of Krishna river. As of 2011 Census of India, the town had a population of 13,400 with 3,316 households, the total population constitute,6,432 males and 6,958 females —a sex ratio of 1,082 females per 1,000 males. 1,321 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, the average literacy rate stands at 71. 34% with 8,617 literates, higher than the state average of 67. 41%. The town is a centre of pilgrimage to both Hindus and Buddhists, the inscriptions on the walls of the Amareswara temple depicts the reign of Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu who ruled before the advent of the British rule. He was well known for his benevolence, munificence and for the construction of a number of temples

4.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents